Captains of a Sinking Ship
by chaserzachsmith
Summary: By now, a disastrous Quidditch team is just Gryffindor tradition.
1. 1991-1992

When Charlie Weasley graduates he is not sure that he's leaving Quidditch in the most capable hands. Oliver Wood is a good kid but he's fifteen. Young and flighty, heart on his sleeves. He'd taken to Quidditch with something like hero-worship and Charlie isn't sure that kind of attitude is good for a leader.

But better Oliver Wood than one of the younger kids on the team- he couldn't give the badge to a twin, or he'd be accused of nepotism, and in any case putting the twins in charge would be a mistake, and Angelina and Alicia are both second years. Even Charlie wouldn't respect a thirteen year old captain, and he knows both of the girls are pretty smart.

"You've got your recommendation?" says Professor McGonagall, when he steps into her office.

"I'm sure you know who it is," he says.

"Wood?"

"Yeah."

"He's earnest. And he tries hard." These are qualities McGonagall clearly approves of, but Charlie can tell she's got her misgivings too.

But that's not Charlie's concern; he hands her his badge- Quidditch Captain- and she seals it in an envelope and thanks him. He heads out, but she calls his name and he stops in the doorway and looks back.

"You were an excellent Captain, Weasley," she says. "I'll be sorry to see you go."

* * *

Charlie -

How is Romania! It must be pretty good if you'd prefer it to professional Quidditch. Just saying, ha ha ha.

We have a new Seeker! It's a first year, believe it or not. Actually it's Harry Potter, believe it or not. I didn't. But he flies brilliantly and he's got a Nimbus 2000 (!) and he's got an excellent eye. I'm excited for the match vs. Slytherin! We'll have to show the school what we're made of- probably nobody respects us now that we don't have any NEWTs students on the team.

I've been studying a lot! I think there's a lot I can learn from reports about other matches- in 1823 the Magpies won vs. the Catapults with a really genius pincer motion and I'm trying to teach it to the team. I think keeping the Quaffle would be easier if we focused on that kind of thing- knowing formations and keeping them, practicing et al. It will be fun I think.

This is long, sorry. Write back! Tell me about the dragons.

Oliver

* * *

Katie cannot say she much likes Harry Potter- he's polite, sure! And sweet, and likable, and cute, and friendly, and so small that she wants to pinch his cheeks and tell him to eat more.

But really- they had to break rules for him? It's disgraceful.

"Would you be mad if they'd broken the rules for _you_?" says Angelina.

Katie cannot say that she would be. "It's still pretty ridiculous," she says.

* * *

It is five-thirty in the morning and they are all mostly asleep still. Oliver is running through a poster with a diagram much too complicated for a Saturday morning, much less a five-thirty Saturday morning, and Angelina's head is resting on Alicia's shoulder. Katie yawns wide and glances to her left; Harry catches her eye and they blink wearily in unison and have to fight back laughter.

Okay. Maybe he's not bad. He's not bad at all.

* * *

Hey Ollie-

Funny thing is, I actually met your Seeker. Bit of business. Very classified. Pretty impressive kid, though. Very Gryffindor. He's friends with one of my brothers and I hear all about him.

And a Nimbus is all very well but it's not the broom that makes the player. In any case I heard it was acting funny in the first match, at least according to my brother Ron. The twins didn't notice it. Good job against Slytherin! I told you little Katie Bell had a lot of potential.

The dragons are well! We've got an egg ready to hatch next week- everyone's placed bets on its gender and eye colour. If it's a girl with orange eyes, I'm going to buy my dad a "space heater". It'll keep him busy for a few months.

Keep in touch-

Charlie

* * *

"Maybe if we go out flying in the rain enough," says Harry in an undertone, "the rain will get bored of us and go away. Do you think that's what Wood's hoping for?"

Katie snorts.

Across the pitch, Oliver makes a spectacular save.

* * *

"Hey Angelina!" shouts Fred. "Heads up!"

She ducks and a Bludger flies over her head towards the stands.

"What was that for?" she yells back at him.

"Lee's having too much fun!" he yells. She looks over at Lee in the stands, who's holding two thumbs-ups over his head.

"He still is!" she yells.

* * *

Charlie-

I've been running drills in the rain! You can never be too prepared. This way we can be ready if it rains on the match vs. Ravenclaw. They did very well against Slytherin, score was almost always tied until Higgs got the Snitch. Ravenclaw only lost by 140 points.

Obviously nobody's thrilled about flying in bad weather but I think it's the best way to get used to it. I bet Ravenclaw's not doing as much training as we are.

Even if you got the eye color off, it counts for something if you got gender, right? I don't know how you do things in Romania but it seems like you should have got a cut of the money. Sorry about the space heater though. If my dad has extra Muggle junk I'll owl it over if you want.

Oliver

* * *

Oliver,

Don't kill your team for God's sake.

Charlie

* * *

"Well team," says Oliver, who is running through the various speeches he'd planned in case of victory to see if he can salvage any words of encouragement. "We tried our hardest. And we kept our dignity in the face of-"

"Oliver," says Fred seriously, "we had the worst loss we've seen since the 1700s."

"1600s," says Katie. "I looked it up."

"Well we only did worse than that by _seventeen goals_ ," says Angelina.

With every sentence the team looks more and more crestfallen. "But we stuck to our guns and we- nailed our colours to the-"

"Oliver," says Fred again. "It's alright. We lost one match. We'll have next year to show them what we've got."

Frankly, Oliver had almost forgotten. "That's right! We've got next year."

"And don't you forget it, Oliver," says Angelina.


	2. 1994-1996

"Ah, Wood," says Professor McGonagall crisply. He takes his seat across from her and hands over the badge, then fidgets with his sleeve until she speaks.

"And your recommendation?"

"Angelina Johnson," says Oliver. "I think she's the- not the best. They're all excellent. But the most capable."

"I trust your decision," says McGonagall.

There is a pause, and then she holds out a cookie tin. "It's been a good three years," she says. "And thank you, for putting that back in my office." She gestures towards the Quidditch Cup on its shelf. It is in a place of honour, next to an ancient photograph of McGonagall herself as Quidditch Captain.

"I was happy to win it, Professor," says Oliver. "Believe me."

* * *

Hey Oliver-

How is it? Puddlemere United! I'm so proud of you. I keep telling the other fellows how my Keeper went big. I'm sure they're all sick of hearing about it, but I'm not sick of telling them about it yet, so they'll have to be sick of it a little longer.

Got to see your Seeker in action a few days ago. He outflew a dragon. An honest to God dragon. It was incredible. I guess all that flying in the rain paid off. He only got a bit singed. Brilliant, all around.

Good luck against the Bats!

Charlie

* * *

"She's sort of a bitch now she's in charge," Alicia says in an undertone.

"Definitely," agrees Katie.

Luckily, Angelina does not hear them, too busy being angry with Harry for antagonising Umbridge. She folds her arms and squints at him and he gets too obviously defensive. Angelina scowls.

"Is she super attractive right now or is it just me?" says Katie thoughtfully.

"It's definitely just you," says Alicia.

* * *

Oliver,

Remember when you told me Quidditch was life or death? I think you were sixteen and I was fourteen and I thought you were the stupidest person alive. I might have even told you so, I don't remember. I definitely said something sarcastic. Anyway, I take it back.

Love,  
Angelina

* * *

"Could I use some of your weird vomit candies to get out of this?" says Alicia as they're flying laps.

"I doubt it," says Fred. "We tried selling to Angelina and she knows all of the effects now. You're better off actually breaking your nose."

"Ugh," says Alicia. "You're no help."

* * *

Harry and Ron pore over Angelina's list of strategies for twenty minutes before either of them speaks. Harry jabs a finger at one- "The Magpie Pinch? That's so specific. You need really, really specific conditions to work that."

"Every single one of these things only works two times out of a hundred," agrees Ron. "Here, quiz me. Ask me one of them."

Harry scans the list. "If the Slytherins are coming at you with two Chasers alternating the Quaffle between them and the Beaters flanking them-"

"Er... _I_ hover center so I'm not caught on the wrong side," says Ron. "And I hope that the Chasers will help me with the Goose Feint. Merlin's pants, who _names_ these things-"

"If the Snitch is near you?"

"That's not my problem, that's Ginny's. Why is that on the list?"

"It's your problem now," says Harry. "Angelina said so."

* * *

"Have you made any new ones?" says Alicia, hovering just by the stands where Fred and George are watching miserably, firmly bundled in their coats.

"New- oh. No, not yet. There's one in development but it's got some nasty side effects so far."

"Damn it," says Alicia.

"You could just fly within thirty feet of Kirke," says George. "I guarantee he'll knock you out of the practice within ten minutes."

* * *

Angelina-

Sorry to hear about the twins and Harry! I hope you can find good replacements. Remember- most important thing for Beaters is how well they work together. Good luck.

Try running drills in the rain, too. It builds endurance.

Oliver

* * *

"I can't believe I used to like Quidditch," says Jack Sloper. "I thought this would be _fun_."

"Idiot," laughs Andrew Kirke, and he snaps a towel at Jack jokingly. "This is life or death, Sloper."

"I sometimes think Johnson actually believes that," says Jack.

"Oh," says Andrew, "No, she absolutely does."

* * *

"What's it say?" says Harry, leaning over Ron's shoulder.

Ron looks at the note. _Don't forget to read up on the Quidditch victories during the 1800s. There were some good Keeper moves in the 1850s when Rubenstein was Keeping for the Castles._

He passes the note over to Harry without a word. "It says I'm never going to see a shred of free time, is what it says."

"Was Rubenstein the one who died in the middle of a game? I swear I read that somewhere."

"Did he really?" bumbles Ron, who is less than pleased with Angelina's bequest now that he knows Rubenstein's moves apparently killed him. "Holy Merlin's- really?"

* * *

"They're not even playing," complains Katie. She shoots a sour look at the Slytherins. They have choreographed parts of the song now and it is insufferable. "Wish they'd just shut up."

"Slytherins don't shut up on their own," says Ginny sourly. "We have to make them." She pounds her fist into her own thigh.

"Well that's aggressive," says Katie. "I like it. Good spirit."

* * *

"How is it you can't spot the Bludgers? They're the size of your head!"

"They're _moving_ ," whines Jack. "They're hard to spot!"

"That's why you're supposed to be looking around all the time-"

"I _do_ ," says Jack. "They come up behind me-"

"Looking all around! Not just left and right!"

* * *

Oliver,

Quidditch and I have a contentious relationship. I can't live with it and I can't live without it. It's a curse. I'm taking it more seriously than anybody else on my team and I hate that. Again, I must apologize for how little I understood you as a captain. Also, I have run drills in the rain, thank you very much.

In slightly better news, our replacement Seeker's good.

Love,  
Angelina

* * *

"I'm going to die," says Ron.

"You'll be fine," says Ginny. "Chin up."

Ron sticks his head out to look at the crowds. "No," he says with finality. "I'm going to die."

* * *

"Who's your king now?" Ginny is hooting at the crowd. She makes obscene gestures at the greater part of Slytherin House until Katie knocks her out of the air. Ostensibly in a hug but really just to get her to stop. "Who was born in a bin now?"

"Bin doesn't even rhyme with king," remarks Lee Jordan to an uninterested Ravenclaw.

"We did it!" Angelina says, trying to wrap her head around it. "Oh my God, we did it! We just did that!"

"You better believe it," says Alicia, and Angelina laughs as the team slowly makes its way back to earth.


	3. 1996-1997

"Are you sure about this?" says Professor McGonagall.

"It wasn't _really_ his fault he got banned," says Angelina. "I've decided to forgive him."

"And the rest of the team?"

"Please, God, don't let Jack Sloper back," says Angelina.

"I'll try," says McGonagall.

* * *

"No badge?" says Leanne, when Katie comes into their compartment.

"No badge," confirms Katie. She sits down with a short huff. "It's fine. Must have gone to Harry."

"Harry Potter?" says Leanne.

"It's fine," insists Katie. "I'd rather focus on my NEWTs anyway."

"God, don't remind me," says Leanne.

Okay, maybe Katie's a little jealous.

* * *

"This is the most chaotic tryout season I've ever seen," says Katie to Ginny, as Harry yells hopelessly at a group of fourth-year girls.

"Nobody's got any dignity anymore," says Ginny. "Throwing themselves at his feet. Especially considering everyone hated his guts last year."

"I guess he's a celebrity now," says Katie.

"Not just a celebrity," says Ginny grudgingly. "He's gotten better-looking, too."

"I mean, I guess," says Katie.

* * *

"Hey Demelza!" says Ginny, running up to her on their way to Herbology. "There's an emergency practice on Friday night."

Demelza smirks. "Slughorn's throwing another party?"

Ginny claps Demelza on the shoulder. "See you there."

* * *

Outside it is snowing again; inside the mood is rather similar. Quiet and damp. They had taken Katie Bell to St. Mungo's that morning, and most of the team is sitting heaped around the Common Room glumly.

"You'll have to find a reserve Chaser," says Ron.

"Katie will be fine," says Harry. "McGonagall said she'd make a full recovery."

"She didn't say she'd make a _fast_ recovery," says Ron. "You have to find a replacement."

"I don't have to do anything," says Harry.

"How will we-" says Ron, before Ginny cuts in.

"Shut up, Ron."

Ron scowls.

* * *

Dean waits until the room is almost empty before he poses the question. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

Seamus scowls in a way that answers the question honestly, then says less honestly "No. Harry picked who he thought was the better flier."

Dean is inclined to disbelieve this; yesterday he'd made the mistake of saying that he was excited to hang out more with Ginny, and Seamus had wolfed down an extra helping of dinner then rushed off to the library, something Dean can't remember ever seeing him do before.

"We better go," says Seamus. "We'll be late for Charms."

* * *

"I hate Ron," says Jimmy. Then he glances over his shoulder, just to make sure Ron's still out of earshot, standing back with Harry.

"He's not too bad," says Ritchie uncomfortably. He does not like to badmouth his teammates.

"He's mean," says Jimmy. "And he's a bad player. I wish we'd gotten that McLaggen bloke."

"He fluffed the tryouts," says Ritchie.

"Yeah, and Ron's fluffing the practices," says Jimmy.

* * *

Dear Katie,

It's miserable without you playing. We had to get Dean Thomas, and Ron's being a real prat to him. Actually, Ron's been a real prat to everyone lately. He made Demelza cry.

Get well soon! I heard about the new treatment- I hope it goes well. We miss you lots!

Love,

Ginny

* * *

"- that slimeball Smith-"

Dean is a tad drunk. On adrenaline, and Ginny's voice, and the party, and the firewhiskey that someone had put in his butterbeer. He grins at Ginny as she continues her rant.

"- glad for it, anyway." She swigs her drink and grins back at him.

There's a roar of applause as the door opens and Harry comes in, a bit bemused by his reception. Dean glances to the side as Seamus worms through the crowd, a butterbeer in each hand.

"Good party," he says.

"Well, you know," says Seamus, obviously pleased.

The cheers amplify and Seamus glances lazily. "Ron's gotten lucky," he remarks.

"Ron's what?"

"Lavender," says Seamus.

Dean takes it in with something like disbelief. Surely Lavender could do better than Ron. But Seamus is whistling through two fingers, and Ginny is laughing about Ron's hypocrisy, so he turns his back and ignores them.

* * *

"First Katie, now Ron," says Jimmy.

"You didn't even like Ron," says Ritchie.

"But I liked Katie," says Jimmy. "Who do you reckon is next?"

"I dunno," says Ritchie. "What makes you think there's gonna be another attack?"

"I dunno," says Jimmy.

Ritchie sighs.

* * *

"Harry, can I have a word?" says Cormac McLaggen over Romilda Vane's head.

"Oh no," says Harry. It is too late to run.

"Oh no," says Hermione, and she makes herself scarce.

"I've just got to-" says Cormac, then squeezes between two chairs and sits in Hermione's vacated chair. "I had some more thoughts about the Beaters. I don't think they're doing a good job-"

"They've got terrific aim," says Harry dully.

"They've got mediocre aim. I think you ought to work them through more drills. And Coote's got a funny swing- he's not getting as much power out of his bat as he should be."

"McLaggen, I'm the captain of the-"'

"And you have to do something about those Chasers. Two of them seem to only make eyes at each other. Don't know what that's about."

Harry has a good idea of who those two Chasers are, and even though McLaggen is right, he does not want to give him that impression. "McLaggen, I'll tell you if I want your input."

"And you have to spend less time watching the team," says McLaggen. "You're the Seeker, you're supposed to-"

"I'm the goddamn captain," grits Harry.

* * *

" _I wish we'd just gotten McLaggen_ ," Ritchie says, his voice pitched up to Jimmy's range. "Bet you wish you could take that back."

"I didn't know," scowls Jimmy. "I take it back."

Ritchie hits Jimmy lightly on the shoulder. "Too late, Peakes. Too goddamn late."

* * *

"God, am I glad to have you back," says Harry, when Katie pulls her broom next to his. "You've no idea how bad it got."

"Ginny wrote me about McLaggen," she replies.

"You still have no idea," says Harry. "Katie, never, ever, ever date someone on your Quidditch team."

"Oh," she says. "Dean and Ginny were a problem too?"

"You have no idea," says Harry. "I'm so glad you're back." He pats her on the back and dismounts.

It is the best practice anybody has had in a while; as the team heads back into the locker rooms, Ginny pushes Jimmy playfully into Ron. Demelza and Ritchie are singing "Weasley Is Our King" good-naturedly.

"It's good to be back," says Katie, and she throws one arm over Harry's shoulders.

* * *

"We should have known," says Jimmy.

"What, that Harry was going to get detention for the rest of his life?" says Ginny sourly.

"No," says Jimmy. "Just that he would miss the last game. He always does."

"He does not," says Katie, and she quickly runs through the last six years in her head. "He made it in 1994."

"Just one year out of six," says Jimmy, and he shrugs suggestively. "See?"

"You're all horrible," says Ginny. "It isn't funny."

Taking their lessons from her very loud row with Dean Thomas after the Hufflepuff match, the team quiets down and slouches.

* * *

There is a rush of cheers midway through Seamus's party, and Katie spins around to see Harry coming in, looking, as normal, totally bemused.

Jimmy hauls Harry into the Common Room by his arms as Ron fights through the crowd, holding aloft the Quidditch Cup. "We won!" says Ron. "Four hundred and fifty to one hundred and forty-"

There are more cheers then, and then Ron realises that it's his sister who's just kissed Harry, and that Harry is kissing back.

There is a long silence, and then uncomfortable whistling and laughter, and then Harry finds Ron again, gives him a weird look, and Ron, unable to respond any other way, jerks his head to the side. If it had to be anybody, at least it is Harry, and Ginny surely doesn't seem to mind.

"Absolute hypocrite," he hears from behind him, and as Harry and Ginny turn back to each other, laughing, Ron turns to see Katie Bell beaming with amusement, one arm around Leanne's waist, a bottle in her hand. Ron, who feels like he's been hit with a Bludger, blinks at her in confusion.

"Never, ever, ever date someone on your Quidditch team, my _arse_ ," says Katie.


End file.
